The Beaux Arts Building With the Green Roof

By Amy Keyishian
| Published: 9/7/2013

Where else but in San Francisco would you find a spectacular, historic building being renovated to the highest LEED specifications?

Photo By The San Francisco Planning Department
There were briefly plans to turn the building into an apartment complex, but those plans were halted by the GSA. Maybe that's when they got the idea to take over the building!

The Federal Building at 50 UN Plaza in San
Francisco has a long and storied history — and it's been closed to the public
since 2007. Next month it'll re-open after a massive renovation, and we got a
sneak peek at one of its San Francisco-iest features: an amazing green roof.

Construction on the building was completed in
1936, the last of seven buildings conceived and grouped together as a true city
center after the 1906 earthquake. Designed by architect Arthur Brown, Jr. — who
had also designed the Opera House, Veterans Building and (with his partner)
City Hall — it was a grand, richly detailed example of Second Renaissance
Revival architecture. But it fell into disrepair and, after the construction of
a new federal building, it was put out of commission in 2007.

An influx of stimulus money prompted a seismic
retrofitting and rehab so it can be used as the new headquarters for the
Pacific Rim region of the U.S. General Services Administration, which oversees
the administrative work of the federal government. Local design firm Hathaway
Dinwiddie is overseeing the work with an emphasis on sustainable and green
design and an application for LEED Platinum certification.

A green roof — that is, a rooftop garden designed
to provide natural insulation, conserve and maximize use of rainwater, and
lower urban air temperatures — is considered a major weapon against global
warming, yet San Francisco has lagged behind other cities (including D.C.,
Chicago and NYC) in incorporating the technology. So the fact that this major
renovation includes a beautiful example of a green roof feels like a major
victory. It includes 14,000 square feet of native plants, wildflowers and
drought-resistant grasses; 4,000 square feet of solar panels; 8 inches of
"growing media" (that seems to be a fancy word for dirt); and will retain
at least 75% of the first rainfall. It's also just a small part of a major
upcoming improvement plan, in which improvements in "green
infrastructure" will help the city make use of every drop of water that
comes its way.

It won't be open to the public or even workers in
the building, but just knowing it's there is comforting. (And, you know,
there's a pretty spectacular plaza down on the street level, too.)